Report: Bank On IT For Improvements In CRM

Wednesday Feb 14th 2001 by eCRMGuide.com Staff

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Best Practices LLC says companies that ignore IT's increasing role in CRM will allow competitors to erode their customer bases via those tools.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--World-class companies that adhere to uncompromising customer service
standards are turning to emerging technology to drive dramatic improvements, according to a
report from Best Practices LLC. Organizations that ignore IT's escalating
role in customer relationship management (CRM) allow competitors to steadily erode their
customer bases with advanced customer service tools.

"Global IT Strategy: Driving Market Success" says that companies are using IT tools to forge
stronger relationships with end users. One profiled company, with annual sales of $3 billion,
recently launched a website that unites the company, channel partners and customers. All
parties transact business and complete administrative functions on the site. The Best Practices
report says this IT functionality boosts opportunities for enhanced customer service,
increases the company's customer and partner knowledge base, and ultimately drives higher sales.

The report details what it calls essential steps to IT success, leading practices and
benchmark metrics derived from executive interviews with 58 top-ranked companies across several
diverse industries. Best Practices claims IT managers can use the insights to enhance practices
in the areas of strategic alignment, emerging technologies and implementation excellence.

BPLLC project analysts also identified what they call key drivers in devising effective IT
strategies: